docs/Homebrew-on-Linux.md
The Homebrew package manager may be used on Linux and Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) 2. Homebrew was formerly referred to as Linuxbrew when running on Linux or WSL. Homebrew does not use any libraries provided by your host system, except glibc and gcc if they are new enough. Homebrew can install its own current versions of glibc and gcc for older distributions of Linux.
Features, installation instructions and requirements are described below. Terminology (e.g. the difference between the Cellar, a tap and a cask) is explained in the documentation.
Instructions for the best, supported install of Homebrew on Linux are on the homepage.
The installation script installs Homebrew to /home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew using sudo. Homebrew does not use sudo after installation. Using /home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew allows the use of most binary packages (bottles) which will not work when installing in e.g. your personal home directory.
The prefix /home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew was chosen to avoid writing to system-owned directories after installation while still allowing most precompiled binaries (bottles) to be used. Homebrew is designed for single-user installations rather than shared role accounts.
Follow the installer's Next steps instructions to add Homebrew to your PATH and shell configuration.
For a supported installation using Bash, run:
eval "$(/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/bin/brew shellenv)"
echo 'eval "$(/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/bin/brew shellenv)"' >> ~/.bashrc
Use ~/.zshrc instead of ~/.bashrc when zsh is your login shell.
You're done! Try installing a package:
brew install hello
If you're using an older distribution of Linux, installing your first package will also install a recent version of glibc and gcc. Use brew doctor to troubleshoot common issues.
See Support Tiers for the full list of Linux requirements.
Homebrew expects a working system C compiler and the standard Linux development tools. Homebrew can install its own current version of gcc when needed, but this does not replace the system compiler required for bootstrap and post-install steps.
To install build tools, paste at a terminal prompt:
Debian or Ubuntu
sudo apt-get install build-essential procps curl file git
Fedora
sudo dnf group install development-tools
sudo dnf install procps-ng curl file
CentOS Stream or RHEL
sudo dnf group install 'Development Tools'
sudo dnf install procps-ng curl file
Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S base-devel procps-ng curl file git
Homebrew can run on 32-bit ARM systems such as Raspberry Pi devices, but because they lack bottles they are a Tier 3 platform.
You may need to install your own Ruby using your system package manager, a PPA or rbenv/ruby-build because Homebrew does not distribute Portable Ruby for ARM32.
Homebrew does not run at all on 32-bit x86 platforms.
Due to known issues with WSL 1, you may experience issues running various executables installed by Homebrew. We recommend you switch to WSL 2 instead.